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Kickstarter of the Week

Sure BTAS is great and all, but I decided it’s time to write a book about the REAL best animated show of all time. it is with great pleasure that I’m announcing my newest and greatest project, “The Man Who Watched The Super Friends”. as the title would suggest, I’ll be going through the iconic series episode by episode in order to turly analyze the depths of this silver screen masterpiece. covering a variety of topics from the inner symbolism of Wonder Woman’s Invisible jet, to the romantic undertones of Wendy and Marvin, to Aquaman’s Deep seated Post traumatic stress disorder. This will be the tell all of the century everyone! The book will be launching on Kickstarter for the reasonable goal of $25,000. This humble budget will allow us to pay for not only our wages and printing costs, but for the required therapy of watching this show for such an extended period of time. the campaign begins today, April 1st. Thank you all for your suppport….

I always enjoy helping friends and this time is no exception. I had the good fortune to meet Dan at Cherry Capital Comic Con 2014 and have been following his amazing work ever since. As hilarious as his real-life(ish) comic strip Beardo may be, his incredible horror comic Touching Evil is as far to the other side of the spectrum as something can be. Dan gave us some time to talk about the current Kickstarter he is running to collect the first arc of Touching Evil into an amazing 240-page hardcover edition!

Digital Nerdage: What is Touching Evil?

Dan Dougherty: Touching Evil is a creator owned comic that blends The Twilight Zone with Breaking Bad. An ordinary woman is given an extraordinary curse: she can kill anyone she touches…if they’re evil.

DN: What can you tell us about the creators associated with Touching Evil?

DD: I am the writer and artist for the series. The seven issue story arc collected in this Kickstarted hardcover features colors by Kanila Tripp and Wes Wong, cover art by Tom Kelly, issue covers by Stephen Bryant, and additional inks by Monica Ras. I also have some excellent pinups from Ryan Browne, Doug Klauba and Andrew Dimmitt.

DN: What are the plans to for the future of Touching Evil?

DD: Aside from launching the hardcover in March (if we succeed) I am working on the second story arc right now, which I plan on releasing most of in 2016. The better we do in the Kickstarter, the easier it will be to finance future issues, as I basically fund the whole thing.

DN: What is the reward, besides the book itself, that you are most excited to offer?

DD: The rewards are great (tshirts, prints, additional books from my other works, original art, burritos, yes, burritos) but I’m most excited about the stretch goals. If we hit $12,000, everyone at hardcover and above gets issue 8 for free! $13,000? You get a Kickstarter exclusive bonus comic drawn by me and written by horror master Dirk Manning! $14,000? You get another exclusive bonus comic featuring a crossover between Touching Evil and my award-winning comic Beardo! (Which you can sample free at www.gocomics.com/Beardo)

DN: Anything else to add?

DD: Yes! For anyone who is intrigued but wants to know more about Touching a Evil before backing, I have a link on the Kickstarter page that lets you read issue one FREE! I’m confident you’ll be intrigued, and if you like issue one you will LOVE the rest!

This week we take a foray into the realm of good old-fashioned slasher comics. Well…maybe not so old-fashioned. We are talking with the writer of Corpse Corp., Ken Johnson. With a passion for comics and a background in film-making, Ken is bring a new take on the slasher genre with the help of Tyler and Sara Sowles.

Digital Nerdage: What is Corpse Corp.?

Ken Johnson: Corpse Corp. is a high concept slasher comic. I’d like to think it takes equal inspiration from mascot 80’s slashers (Friday the 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street) and newer self aware slashers (Scream, Cabin in the Woods, Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil). The format and setting are definitely in the Freddy or Jason camps, but i would describe the humor as more of a Kevin Smith vibe. (more directly Tusk or Dogma).

Plot wise, Corpse Corp. is the name of a horror based company (similar but different to the one from Cabin in the Woods) where horror villains and slashers of all kind murder droves of stupid teenagers, film all of it, and make a fortune selling them back to other stupid teenagers. While I don’t want to spoil the exact mythos, I’ll just say that it is supposed to function as a Darwin effect of sorts. That’s why there’s always one or 2 people who live.

Our story follows Jack, a new recruit at the company who wants to bring the company back to his 80’s horror roots. Although he’s quick to think on his feet, his ADHD proves to be both a great strength and weakness to him. It’s this hyperactive and out of control nature that helped him create his killer alter ego: The Swingtime Slasher! A zoot suit wearing loudmouth who rather than silently stalk, announces every entrance with pomp and circumstance.

While In Light SPOILER territory here, the main thrust of this comic focuses on his unexpected team up with Sally, the stereotypical “girl who always lives character” who becomes so sick of being bullied by the others that she teams up with him to help create the greatest horror film of all time.

The majority of the comic is going to look on the surface like your typical slasher fare. While it does take place in a summer camp with a slew of stereotypical teenagers, I can assure you Corpse Corp. takes some massive and strange twists and turns as it attempts to not only homage the genre, but try to enhance and take it in brand new directions.

DN: What can you tell us about the creators associated with Corpse Corp.?

KJ: My background mainly consists of writing/directing, but I’ve done other things here and there. I primarily learned through film-making and theater, but I’ve always felt some connection (to) the comic community. My writing style has always pushed toward the darkly comedic and really trying to make something new and out there. I’ve always been drawn to taking genres or source material often seen as lesser or incapable of being taken seriously, and tried to make something really substantial out of it. In a way, that’s what led me towards trying to take a higher concept approach to the often overlooked masked slasher sub-genre.

While I’ll include Tyler and Sara Sowles formal credentials below, I want to speak on behalf of these guys for a moment because they are amazing. Not only is their art so far on this project blown my mind, I have had few people I work with that have such a mental synergy. I never thought i’d be able to pitch to someone “Can you draw me a slasher comic that looks like an R Rated Hanna-Barbera cartoon” and instantly say “no problem.” While I write this comic the best I can to show all three of us off, I have to say the unspoken teamwork between the three of us in making the story and visual mesh i think is going to be the true star of this project.

Also quick note, while they do not contribute to the comic traditionally, I have to give a special shout out to both Dirk Manning & Comfort and Adam for donating their likenesses to characters in the comic. Comfort and Adam were my first mentors in the industry and Dirk was one of the first big vocal supporters of my Batman series. It felt good to be able to give back.

Tyler Sowles is an art guy and a full-time freelance comic illustrator. When he’s not juggling indie titles (Fallstreak, Renegade, Frankenstein’s Giant) and small press books (The Numbered – Arcana Studio, Tandoori Apocalypse – Storyboard GN, Deadworld – Transfuzion Publishing), he’s working on his own titles like Hank Steiner: Monster Detective and Durontus: The Lost Serpent. He has even been lucky enough to have several pinups in IDW’s Godzilla: Ruler’s of Earth, and some cover/interior illustrations for G-Fan Magazine.

Sara Sowles is a painter, comic colorist and designer. Sara’s work includes coloring for Source Point Press’ Step Right Up; coloring, layout and lettering for Source Point Press’ Wild Bullets, Hank Steiner: Monster Detective, Tandoori Apocalypse and Durontus: The Lost Serpent. She’s also colored almost everything Tyler’s ever submitted, basically making his art look good.

DN: Are there any plans to continue on with Corpse Corp. after this collection?

KJ: That’s a really good question. The idea is definitely asked quite a bit. While I do have one possible idea for a direct sequel, the more likely idea is to see it more as an anthology series. Corpse Corp. as a company is a big place and it would be very easy for us to follow a different employee of a different horror genre while using Corpse Corp. as the overall name of the saga. The other possibility is to potentially cross over with another horror style property (pending on where Corpse Corp. finds itself published) seeing as Corpse Corp. has a unique mythos that would let it easily enter most horror series’ back door without disturbing its long term continuity. Long story short, If this turns out to be something people grab on to, I can speak with some degree of certainty we have room to grow.

DN: What is the reward that you are most excited to offer?

KJ: So far my favorite reward is surprisingly our most popular. For $50, a select group of 10 people will be able to have themselves brutally murdered in the first episode. During a zone out sequence, Jack imagines a wide variety of iconic horror movie kills waiting to be filled with screaming faces. Also for $50, you could design a horror poster that hangs inside Corpse Corp.’s walls. We wanted to give our heaviest donors a chance to leave their mark on the comic in an important way and so far that seems to be paying off.

DN: Anything else to add?

KJ: Corpse Corp. is a really big, but also a really important, project for me. Not only have I always wanted to make a horror story,but this is the first time I’ve ever written a character with Attention Deficit Disorder. Quite often, this disorder is chocked up to comic relief, and don’t get me wrong; I can laugh at a “hey look a squirrel!” joke as much as the next guy, but I think there’s room for a more serious approach too and I hope that this will help people understand it better. On top of that, I’m unbelievably excited to write a slasher. The slasher genre has always fascinated me as a genre that has had an unbelievable number of entries, but seems to struggle to innovate as much as it might like to. Although plenty of good ones have come out in the last few decades, the struggle to break out of the 80’s once and for all has been a real struggle. While I don’t expect Corpse Corp. to be the greatest slasher ever or even the most original, I really want to be a footnote in bringing new stuff to the slasher genre.

If you wanna follow more of my stuff, check us out /deadmenink with Facebook,Twitter,Twitch, and especially Youtube.

This week we’re shipping up to Boston to talk with Josh Dahl, the writer behind the Rapid City series of comics. He is working on issue number four of Rapid City Below Zero and has a Kickstarter to bring it to life! Let’s see what he has to say about the project.

Digital Nerdage: What is Rapid City Below Zero?

Josh Dahl: Rapid City Below Zero is a super villain revenge drama. It is the story of one super villain, Icicle, who is dell-bent on getting revenge on the villain who betrayed her crew and murdered her boyfriend. When it is complete, it will 12 issues of bad-guy-on-bad-guy badness.

DN: What can you tell us about the creative team?

JD: I am the writer, Josh Dahl. Our artist is Shawn Langley, he does all of the drawing and the gray tones. Shawn is simply too good an artist to be working at the insulting rate I have been paying him. The same is true of our cover colorist, Micah Faulkner. Our letterer and producer, Kyle Kaminski, is in the same boat. Amazingly talented and working for peanuts. That is one of the biggest reasons to do this kickstarter. To get these guys what they deserve.

DN: What would you tell someone that is just looking to jump onto Rapid City Below Zero? Can they jump on at #4 without reading #1-3?

JD: To be completely honest, issue #4 will be the worst jumping on point thus far. It starts out in teh middle of a fight which was hinted at in issue #3. I think a reader could catch up and enjoy the book just fine, but there is an emotional journey in the first three issues that really adds weight to the events of issue 4.

DN: What is the reward, besides the book itself, that you are most excited to offer?

JD: I think the coolest thing we are offering is also the cheapest. All backers, at all reward levels, will be offered access to The Rapid City EXCLUSIVE Studio on Facebook. Shawn and I used to have a page called “The Rapid City Open Studio” where anyone could come and watch out collaborative process. Well, for now that site is closed. In its place we now have The Rapid City EXCLUSIVE Studio, which is the same thing but now only open to backers of this campaign.

Instead of sending me sketches and pages via email, Shawn simply posts his work on the Facebook page. I see it at the same time that everyone else does and I make my notes and comments in front of everyone. That is where our collaboration happens.

So, it’s better than just watching some guys making a comic, our backers will actually be watching their money at work. They’ll be able to watch the progress in real time. In fact, if they are on at the right times, they can easily see developing art work, and completed pages, BEFORE I do.

DN: Anything else to add?

JD: Just that I am already overwhelmed by the incredible support we have already gotten. Just making it this far has been amazing. But we’re not done and I really hope that your readers will want to get on board and help us make this comic a reality. And thanks.

I have to say that I really enjoy the fact that they will be sharing the progress on Facebook unfiltered. It is a cool perk for fans! Please be sure to back this Kickstarter if you can!

We are back after an extended, and unplanned, hiatus from our Kickstarter of the Week. Sorry for the interruption. However, I am very excited to talk with Joe St. Pierre, the creative mind behind The New Zodiax. Joe is running a Kickstarter to help fund a collected edition of the first four issues of The New Zodiax. Check out what he has to say about the project!

Digital Nerdage: What is New Zodiax?

Joe St. Pierre: The NEW ZODIAX is my new creator-owned comic series that I am self-publishing.

For the fans out there who are unfamiliar with me or my work, I have worked for Marvel, DC, Image, Valiant, IDW and Dynamite as an ­artist and writer. I have penciled more #1 issues featuring Spider-Man or his cast than anybody else.

The premise of NEW ZODIAX focuses on 12 characters who can channel the cosmic energies of the zodiac.

The first issue came out in February, and sold out at the distribution level. It debuts the New Aquarius, aka the LIBERAIDER. The LIBERAIDER is a brilliant teenage hacktivist who acquires a metallic second skin that allows him to access the web with his mind. In an age where information can mean life and death, he styles himself as the Robin Hood of Cyberspace, who steals from the info-rich and gives to the info-poor.

Each of the next 3 issues premieres a new character from the NEW ZODIAX, making them all instant collector’s items. For instance, issue #2 debuts the LION, a nearly immortal man buried in a proto-Egyptian pyramid over 10,000 years ago, He represents the Leo sign. The LION is the first man to ever look into the night skies, create pictures and constellations, and the myths associated with them, and to acquire power from that process. I’m planning lots of horror and history in his tales.

#3 features the new Pisces. Her name is CRICKET; she’s a paranormal investigator/ghost buster, . CRICKET’s first appearance seems to have made quite a splash with the fans. Reviews and individual fans have given me very positive feedback. CRICKET’s story meshes sci fi with horror and tugs your heart strings at the same time. Lots of horror sprinkled with sci-fi in her stories.

#4 just came out in stores two weeks ago. It introduces the New Sagittarius: MULTAA, the kaiju lava creature. Lots of giant monster destruction in that one, lol. But I also mixed in some small character moments– I am so proud of this one, it really feels to me like a twist to the genre that hasn’t been done before. NBD!

With NEW ZODIAX I’m looking to explore all genres, from action/superhero to sci-fi to cyberpunk to horror, all with added twists that hopefully readers will say have never been done before. Along the way I’m planning to reinvent the astrological signs themselves, for a more modern age. It’s a pretty epic story!

I am currently running a Kickstarter campaign for the NEW ZODIAX TPB, which assembles the first four issues into one volume, along with some extra behind-the-scenes type materials. I have an exclusive offer; if you pre-order the NEW ZODIAX TPB thru the Kickstarter, you will receive an autograph and a remark sketch on the inside of the book.

DN: What can you tell us about the creative team?

JSP: For the most part, this is a labor of love I created, wrote, and illustrated. But I did ask a bunch of my A-List friends to contribute their talents as well. Sandu Florea (BATMAN, DEATHSTROKE), Jay Leisten (DEATH OF WOLVERINE, X-MEN), Ernie Colon (CASPER, DAMAGE CONTROL), Joe Rubenstein (WOLVERINE, CAPT. AMERICA), Steve Firchow (Grant Morrison’s X-MEN, TOP COW), Laura Martin (STAR WARS, A-FORCE), Fred Hembeck (HOUSE OF HEM), Ian Nichols (TICK, TMNT) and Chris Campana (FIRST WORLD) all helped out with some great covers and pin-ups.

Dennis Calero (X-MEN NOIR, Dark Horse’s THE SUIT) helped out a TON on the colors. Joe Sinnott (FANTASTIC FOUR, THOR) inked the variant cover for the NEW ZODIAX #2. To have collaborated with a master of Joe’s calibre was one of the highlights of my entire career.

DN: You introduced four of the New Zodiax through the first four issues. Is the plan that the first 12 issues will introduce a new character or will there be a bit more spacing in the future?

JSP: My plan is to introduce the first four, get the characters interacting early in their universe, and roll out new members organically. I’ve already planted seeds for two more members of the NEW ZODIAX in the first four issues.

DN: What is the reward, besides the book itself, that you are most excited to offer?

JSP: I am also offering original art pages from the first four issues for sale on the Kickstarter. I am glad to see of the first batch of panel pages I posted, I sold about half in the first week. I have added a few more since then. I put my heart and soul into those pages, I think it’s a great deal all around.

I think a lot of fans know my past work, so the full figure commissions are selling well too.

DN: Anything else to add?

JSP: Yes, I’d like to say thanks to all those who have backed the Kickstarter, I’m at 75% in less than two weeks!

Also please share this article and the Kickstarter link with your fellow comics fans, friends and social network. Anything you all do to help Spread The New Z can go far, and that means a lot to me. Let’s make the NEW ZODIAX my day job, I have a ton of stories to tell with these characters! Thanks!

It is great to be back at it, and this is an exciting project to return to! Please take a moment to check out the Kickstarter and back it if you can! I see a bright future for The New Zodiax and can’t wait to see where it takes us!

Once again I get the awesome opportunity to support a friend in their efforts at crowdfunding. Ryan Browne, the creative genius behind the amazing Kickstarter success and Image book, God Hates Astronauts, has an extremely innovative new project call Blast Furnace: Recreational Thief. This 280 page (!!!!) masterpiece was created one hour at a time, in which a single page is created! Let’s see what Ryan has to say about the project himself!

Digital Nerdage: What is Blast Furnace: Recreational Thief!?

Ryan Browne: It’s an improv comic following a set of rules that I have invented. I follow no script, and never plan ahead. I only have one hour to write and draw each page. I started with the design of our main character Blast Furnace and I just went from there, riffing and improving my way through 262 pages of story. It’s pretty nuts and ultra fun.

DN: What can you tell us about the creative team (yourself)?

RB: After 10 monthly issues writing, drawing and designing God Hates Astronauts, im pretty burnt out on overly crafted visuals. That’s why Blast Furnace is so relaxing. I’m not overly invested in any one drawing or story idea so it makes it lighter and looser. BF is right in my creative wheelhouse. Making stuff up and making myself laugh while I do it.

DN: What was the inspiration behind doing an improvised comic while limiting yourself to one hour per page??

RB: Just to get stuff done faster. Tell more stories, try out more ideas. A normal comic page takes around eight hours for me to write and draw. In eight hours of Blast Furnace, I have eight finished pages. It’s a great feeling.

DN: What is the reward, besides the book itself, that you are most excited to offer?

RB: I’m offering autographed pictures of my stupid cat. It’s gonna be great! (Ed. Note: Simon is a pretty amazing cat, he even got to grace a variant cover of an issue of God Hates Astronauts!)

DN: Anything else to add?

RB: I’m excited to be back to self-publishing and the direct market through Kickstarter. I get to make the comics I want to make and deliver them straight to my fans. It’s an awesome way to create and get rewarded on both sides.

I am happy to see this happening. Ryan has a deliciously twisted sense of humor, and with a one hour time limit and no plan for every page, I can imagine that will shine through. Hurry over to his Kickstarter and support it if you can. Stretch goals are already being unlocked so you know that you are going to get your monies worth!

It is always awesome when I see my friends putting out amazing new creations. This is definitely one of those types of projects. I have know this week’s creator, Tyler Sowles, for a number of years, having met him at Cherry Capital Comic Con and enjoying his (and his wonderful wife Sara) are creating some brilliant work. Not the least of which is their labor of love Durontus: The Lost Serpent. We took a few minutes to talk with Tyler about the Kickstarter to support the new Durontus book from Killustration Studios!

Digtial Nerdage: What is Durontus: The Lost Serpent?

Tyler Sowles: Durontus: TLS is a daikaiju (giant monster) indie comic book series. It is created for giant monster fans, by giant monster fans.

Durontus spawned out of Tyler’s love for Japanese giant monster films and claymation features such as Godzilla, The Giant Behemoth and Gorgo. Between the two of them, Scott and Tyler love this stuff so much, they really had no choice but to try their hand at a monster tale of their own.

The first issue of Durontus: The Lost Serpent, released in 2013, represents Tyler and Sara’s first venture into the world of comics. The story centers around a mysterious serpent that surfaces off the coast of Norway and is observed by a dedicated task force known as the GWG (Gargantua Watch Group) in order to avert possible disaster. Things come to a head when a swarm of moth-like insect mutations engulf the island of Svalbard and awaken Durontus. The creatures fight and the moths quickly head toward the mainland, leaving the story at a cliffhanger ending. Fans of the first issue deserve a resolution and that’s where Kickstarter comes in!

The sequel issue will pick up directly after the end of the first book and will center on the GWG’s struggle for survival and the mighty Durontus regaining his strength in order to battle the insect threat. The story will be a full color 24+ page comic. The art has been revitalized, updated for a more modern audience. The overall look of the comic will be more intense, dynamic and professional than its predecessor, but will still continue the same story, characters and setting as before.

TS: The creative team consists of these starry eyes indie comic veterans:

Tyler Sowles is an art guy and a full-time freelance comic illustrator. When he’s not juggling indie titles (Fallstreak, Renegade, Frankenstein’s Giant) and small press books (The Numbered – Arcana Studio, Tandoori Apocalypse – Storyboard GN, Deadworld – Transfuzion Publishing), he’s working on his own titles like Hank Steiner: Monster Detective and Durontus: The Lost Serpent. He has even been lucky enough to have several pinups in IDW’s Godzilla: Ruler’s of Earth, and some cover/interior illustrations for G-Fan Magazine.

Scott R. Schmidt is an independent comic book writer, retro-gamer and beer lover. His work has been published by 215Ink, Ink & Drink Comics and 8th Wonder Press. Thanks for a successful Kickstarter, he also self publishes Steele Vs: The legendary Adventures of Sam Steele, North-west Mounted Police.

Sara Sowles is a painter, comic colorist and designer. Sara’s work includes coloring for Source Point Press’ Step Right Up; coloring, layout and lettering for Source Point Press’ Wild Bullets, Hank Steiner: Monster Detective, Tandoori Apocalypse and Durontus: The Lost Serpent. She’s also colored almost everything Tyler’s ever submitted, basically making his art look good.

DN: What are the hopes for the future of Durontus?

TS: Ideally, I’d draw this book for forever. There isn’t a whole lot of alternative choices when it comes to dynamic kaiju stories. The rise in popularity of the genre thanks to the movies Pacific Rim and Godzilla have open the scene up to a broader, eager audience. I want to show people that there’s other cool, creative stories and monsters that still have the classic feel of a black and white 50’s sci-fi film.

DN: What is the reward, besides the book itself, that you are most excited to offer?

TS: There are a few really great rewards. I’m doing some 9×12 sketches that will be fun. I’ve got a whole squad of talented art buddies helping me with a set of mini poster prints featuring the monster (James Biggie, Carter Allen, Chris Martinez, Jason Strutz, Nolan Nasser and Chris Scalf) and Matt Frank, who I’ve known for a long time (and who is known for his artistic contributions to Godzilla fandom and IDW’s Godzilla: Ruler’s of Earth) is contributing a sketch. I can’t wait to see what these dudes do.

If you’re into indie comics, kaiju, monsters or classic sci-fi, this book is for you. If not into any of those things, you probably aren’t listening to the right podcast.

I am super excited to see this succeed as I know what it means to Tyler and Sara. This truly is a passion project for Killustration Studios and the love they have for this genre is definitely seen in the first book, and I can believe that issue 2 will be no different. Please take a moment to check out the Kickstarter as soon as you can and please back it if possible!

Anytime I can find a comic I can share with my young daughter, I will make time to promote it. This is one of those times! This week we are talking with the President and Editor in Chief of Source Point Press, Travis McIntire. He is currently promoting his Kickstarter for the new kid-friendly comic Bayani and the Nine Daughters of the Moon. Let’s see what he has to say!

Digital Nerdage: What is Bayani and the Nine Daughters of the Moon?

Travis McIntire: Bayani is a fun, kid-friendly comic that utilizes the themes from Harry Potter, The Neverending Story, The Odyssey, and some Western storytelling traditions and places them on the timeless isle of Laguna in the Philippines where all of the stories, myths, and legends of the aboriginal people are real!

DN: Can you please tell us about the creative team?

TM: Grant Perkins is handling art duties. Grant has done work for Image Comics, 2000AD, Dreamworks, Titancomics and is a published author with his “Dwayne Hickenbottom” books. Find out more about Grant at thegrantperkins.com

Taylor Esposito is lettering. Taylor is a longtime DC and Marvel letterer who does absolutely beautiful work and really ties the story together well. Taylor is now an independent contractor at ghostglyphstudios.com.

Rich Bloom is our graphic design artist. Rich is relatively new to the comic scene, but he cut his teeth on Image Comic’s C.O.W.L. and is doing fantastic logo and design work for us.

I’m the creator and writer of Bayani. I’m also the writer of horror series “Up The River,” one of the principles of Source Point Press and co-founder of the Michigan Comics Collective, a non-profit publisher for artists and writers within the state of Michigan. You can check out more of my stuff at sourcepointpress.com or michigancomicscollective.org.

DN: I am not very familiar with Filipino folklore and mythology. What got you interested in it to the point that you decided to make a comic book based upon it?

TM: I was looking for some weird monsters to use as art examples for a horror project I was working on a few years and stumbled across some beasties from Filipino folklore. I ended up falling down an internet rabbit hole where I learned about an entire wing of folklore and myth that I previously had no idea about! The absolute BEST monsters and strangest creatures I had ever encountered and I knew right away that I wanted to someday use these characters in a story. I ended up doing quite a lot of research but never really put anything on paper. Two years later, I was working with Grant on a different project (being published next year!) and he was showing me some work he’d been doing that included a 3 page story written by Andy Lanning (Guardians of the Galaxy) that was sort of riffing on the Filipino ideas of the Sun and Moon. I LOVED the art style and Grant was eager to return to something similar to that story. I wrote a treatment and a single issue script and we sent it off to Mr. Lanning to make sure we weren’t going to be stepping on any toes and after he expressed his approval, we started working.

DN: What is the reward, besides the book itself, that you are most excited to offer?

TM: The rewards themselves have changed quite a bit as the campaign has gone on, in an attempt to keep people interested and watching! Right now, I think the two script reviews by comics legend Gary Reed are the most exciting. Basically, it’s a chance to get your work in front of the Editor-In-Chief of a successful comic publisher with deep roots and connections in the industry. Anyone who’s been on the submission train will tell you that actually getting the guy who calls the shots to actually sit down with your work is one of the hardest things to accomplish. With this kickstarter, you can skip right to the front of the line!

I have talked about this before, but I cannot stress enough that there are no where near enough all-ages comics out there and when a good option comes along it deserves all the support we can muster! Please take a minute to check out Bayani and the Nine Daughters of the Moon’s Kickstarter and consider supporting it! There are only a few days LEFT!

Wow, July is so extraordinarily busy. Sorry for missing a week with our Kickstarter. However, we are back with a great project that has been a long time in the making. We talk with sci-fi/fantasy epic Light-Earth‘s creator JR Blanton.

Digital Nerdage: What is Light-Earth?

JR Blanton: Light-Earth is a sci-fi/fantasy saga that plunges readers into an ancient, enslaved world with constant wars being waged over it’s freedom. Much of the story focuses on themes such as how war, hatred, and grabs for power can bring a world to the brink of destruction, and appreciating the world we live in. I spent decades painstakingly editing and crafting what I still today believe is unlike anything readers have ever seen. Though, I have had reviewers making comparisons to other established properties. Some have even said things like “Light-Earth mixes the fantasy feel of The Lord Of The Rings, the brutal action of Game Of Thrones, the epic drama of Star Wars, and the complex-storytelling of Fringe into a nice little package that will keep you coming back to this world.” That is hard for me because I intentionally didn’t include classic fantasy elements such as dragons, hobbits, dwarves, elves, orcs, goblins, wizards, and magic to keep from being just another Hobbit rip-off. The more original the better has been my thinking since the beginning. The main characters are prominently displayed in this opening issue. The evil lord Vylezor has conquered Light-Earth. Ravnar of Agondul and Anarra of the White Realm lead a resistance to find the ancient champion of all the realms to help them win their freedom. The world is gorgeous, but the roads are perilous.

DN: Can you tell us about the creative team?

JRB: I am so lucky to have collaborated with famous names such as Ale Garza, Laura Braga, Ace Continuado, & my art hero Darryl Banks on covers. But I have also worked with red-hot talent such as Dino Agor, Carlos Braga, Jeremy Clark, and more. The interior pencils and art were provided by my good friend Sika Murti with colors by another good friend Bryan Magnaye. Their styles work perfectly together and really brought this world and it’s characters to life. There is also work by Don Edwards, Kitty Pierce, Mervin Gadaingan, Mark Marvida, Aaron “Aarpie” Pierce, and Ted Woods.

DN: What is the reward (besides the comic itself) that you were most excited to offer?

JRB: The #0 issue currently ending this Friday at midnight on Kickstarter has 7 different covers for the collectors, several exclusive prints like the Armando Huerta Risque and Nude versions of Anarra for fans of the sexy art, and my favorites which are the blank cover sketches by Garza, Braga, Marvida, Murti, & myself.

DN: You have been working on Light-Earth for the majority of your life. Do you recall where the idea originally came from still?

JRB: The story itself was first created when I was a child 30 years ago. It came from my imagination when I would sit with my toys and run them through storylines, in much the same way I did with my wrestling toys. I brought many of the early comics I drew for it to Elementary school to show around but teachers, classmates, even some members of my extended family were extremely harsh on me, calling my dreams delusional, and claiming I needed to stick to more realistic “life goals”. It still gives fuel to my fire to prove that garbage wrong.

DN: Is there anything else you would like to share?

JRB: I would first like to thank you for taking the time to hear my story. Secondly, dreams do come true when you work hard and never give up. I have survived serious health issues, homelessness, and even crippling bouts of depression to get where I am. Let it be known that without my fellow creators and friends believing in me, I would have given up years ago. My mentor Dirk Manning gave me one of the best pieces of advice I ever received straight from his hit book Write Or Wrong…”It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”…meaning patience and perseverance will pay off in the end.

Personally, I hope this is the first of many projects from JR Blanton and the team at No Gravity Studios. The work being done on this is really beautiful and I am excited to see the completed product. This Kickstarter is just a few dollars away from being funded and ends this week. I hope you will consider helping them reach their goal as I think you will not regret it! Check out their Kickstarter here, and stay nerdy my friends.

This week we will be doing things a bit differently. This week we take care of one of our own…

As some of you my know, our own Mistress of Mayhem, Michelle Joy Gallagher, lost the father of her children to a sudden stroke. As much as I am sure she would much rather we take this time to promote another independent creator, I am taking this time to ask any of you that can to donate something to the GoFundMe page Michelle has set up in order to pay their bills while she tries to get their affairs in order. Not only did the children lose their father and Michelle her partner, they lost their sole provider.

Michelle is a wonderful person, and a part of our little family here so I hope that if you can you will visit Michelle’s GoFundMe page and give what ever you can.